List of Christian monasteries in Norway

This is a list of Christian religious houses, both extant and dissolved, in Norway, for both men and women. All those before the Reformation were of course Catholic; the modern ones are a mixture of Catholic and Protestant communities.


Norwegian monasteries pre-Reformation

All Norway's medieval religious houses that were still extant were dissolved during the Reformation.

Religious house Location Present-day county Dedication Order Notes
Bakke Abbey Trondheim, Bakke gård Trøndelag nuns of unknown order, possibly Benedictine c. 1150 - 1537
Franciscan friary, Bergen Bergen Vestland Franciscan friars 1240s - 1537
Hospital of St. Anthony, Bergen Bergen Vestland Saint Anthony Order of St. Anthony 1507–1528; the premises were previously Nonneseter Abbey, Bergen
St. John's Priory, Bergen[1] (Jonsklosteret) Bergen Vestland Saint John the Baptist Augustinian Canons mid-12th cy - 1450
Dragsmark Abbey (Marieskog) Uddevalla Båhuslen (now Bohuslän in Sweden) Blessed Virgin Mary Premonstratensian Canons 1230 x 1260[2] - 1532
Elgeseter Priory, formerly Helgeseter Priory Trondheim Trøndelag Augustinian Canons before 1183 - 1546
Gimsøy Abbey Skien Telemark Benedictine nuns 1st half of the 12th cy - c. 1540
Halsnøy Abbey Island of Halsnøy (Kvinherad) Vestland Augustinian Canons 1163/64 - 1536
St. Olav's Priory, Hamar (Olavsklosteret på Hamar) Hamar Innlandet Saint Olav Dominican friars The existence of this Dominican priory is known from a single reference in 1511[3]
Holmen Priory Holmen, Bergen Vestland Dominican friars 1243 x 1247 - 1528
Hovedøya Abbey Island of Hovedøya (Oslo) Oslo Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Edmund the Martyr Cistercian monks 1147-1532
Kastelle Priory[1] Konghelle (later Kungahålla) Båhuslen (now Bohuslän in Sweden) Augustinian Canons 1161 x 1181 - 1529
Konghelle Friary Konghelle (later Kungahålla) Båhuslen (now Bohuslän in Sweden) Franciscan friars 1263 x 1272 - 1532
Lyse Abbey Os Vestland Cistercian monks 1146-1536
Marstrand Friary Marstrand Båhuslen (now Bohuslän in Sweden) Franciscan friars in existence by 1291; entirely demolished in 1532; exact location unknown
Munkeby Abbey Okkenhaug, Levanger Trøndelag Cistercian monks founded before 1180; apparently relocated to Tautra Abbey c. 1200 x 1207
Munkeliv Abbey Nordnes, Bergen Vestland Saint Michael Benedictine monks to 1426, thereafter Bridgettine nuns c. 1110 - 1531
Nidarholm Abbey Munkholmen island in Trondheim Trøndelag Saint Benedict and Saint Lawrence Benedictine monks c. 1100 - 1537[4]
Nonneseter Abbey, Bergen Bergen Vestland Blessed Virgin Mary Cistercian nuns, ejected in 1507; premises given to the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony c. 1150[?] - 1507
Nonneseter Abbey, Oslo Schweigaardsgaten and Grønlandsleiret in Oslo Oslo Blessed Virgin Mary Benedictine nuns early 12th cy - 1547[5]
St. Olav's Priory, Oslo (Olavsklosteret i Oslo) Oslo Oslo Saint Olav Dominican friars 1239[?] - before 1546
Franciscan Friary, Oslo Oslo Oslo Franciscan friars before 1291 - 1530s or 1540s
Rein Abbey Årnset, Rissa Trøndelag Saint Andrew noblewomen's collegiate foundation shortly after 1226 - 1532
Selje Abbey Island of Selja in Selje Vestland Saint Alban Benedictine monks c. 1100 - 1461 x 1474
St. Olav's Abbey, Stavanger (Olavsklosteret i Stavanger)[6] Stavanger Rogaland Saint Olav Augustinian Canons founded before 1160; transferred to Utstein c. 1263 x 1280
Tautra Abbey or Tuterø Abbey Island of Tautra, Frosta Trøndelag Cistercian monks 1207 - 1532
St. Olav's Abbey, Tønsberg (Olavsklosteret i Tønsberg) Tønsberg Vestfold Saint Olav Premonstratensians 2nd half of the 12th century (before 1191) - 1532
Franciscan Friary, Tønsberg Tønsberg Vestfold Franciscan friars before 1236 - 1536
Bridgettine Priory, Trondheim Trondheim Trøndelag Bridgettine nuns dates tbe
Dominican Priory, Trondheim Trondheim Trøndelag Dominican friars before 1234 - 1531
Franciscan Friary, Trondheim Trondheim Trøndelag Franciscan friars before 1472 - 1532
Utstein Abbey Island of Mosterøy in Rennesøy Rogaland Saint Lawrence Augustinian Canons founded 1263 x 1280 to replace St. Olav's Abbey, Stavanger; dissolved 1537
Varna Abbey Værne gård, Rygge Østfold Knights Hospitallers 2nd half of the 12th century - 1532

Norwegian monasteries post-Reformation

All of the following are less than thirty years old.

  • Engen Community, Kolbu in Toten: Protestant deaconesses, of the French Communauté des Diaconesses de Reuilly [1]
  • Fjordenes Dronning Abbey, Storfjord near Stamsund in Lofoten: Cistercian monks
  • Heimdal Abbey: Bridgettines
  • Hovin in Telemark: Trappist monks
  • Høysteinane Priory, Larvik: Poor Clares
  • Lunden Convent, Linderud, Oslo: Dominican sisters
  • St. Dominic's Convent, Oslo: Dominican sisters
  • St. Hallvard's Church and Monastery, Enerhaugen, Oslo: Franciscan friars
  • Tautra Abbey (Tautra Mariakloster), Tautra: Trappist nuns
  • Totus Tuus Convent, Tromsø: Carmelite sisters

Notes

  1. ^ a b possibly an abbey
  2. ^ or possibly 1234
  3. ^ Diplomatarium Norvegicum IV. Christiania. 1055
  4. ^ there is an unsubstantiated tradition of an earlier foundation by King Canute in 1028
  5. ^ the nunnery's assets had been expropriated by 1547, but the nuns seem to have remained in residence for several decades longer
  6. ^ may also have been known as Kleiva kloster

Sources

  • Norske middelalderkloster (in Norwegian)